


It's Only You

by grimouis



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Aromantic, Asexuality Spectrum, Holding Hands, M/M, Platonic Cuddling, Platonic Life Partners
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-08
Updated: 2017-06-08
Packaged: 2018-11-10 17:19:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,097
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11131296
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/grimouis/pseuds/grimouis
Summary: It's early morning when Harry gets the idea.He wants Louis to be his platonic partner.or; Harry struggles to find a way to ask Louis to be his queerplatonic partner.





	It's Only You

**Author's Note:**

  * For [theworldsheforgot](https://archiveofourown.org/users/theworldsheforgot/gifts).



> Hii!
> 
> Prompt: Harry struggling with wanting to ask Louis to be his queerplatonic partner + coming up with different ways to ask but always failing until he finally does and Louis is just like.... 'i thought we already were'
> 
> I hope you will enjoy it!
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own One Direction or anyone/anything affiliated with them

It’s early morning when Harry gets the idea.

The sun hasn't fully risen yet. Just barely peeking up over the treetops, waking with the people. It’s shining in through the curtains, casting a bright streak right at Harry’s face, waking him up too.

He goes to turn around when he notices the solid weight on top of him. He looks down and surely enough, there’s Louis, sleeping soundly with his head rested on Harry's chest.

Harry can feel a fond smile stretch across his lips immediately. Some would probably think it embarrassing how soft Harry is for Louis sometimes, but to Harry, it’s part of what makes them _harryandlouis_.

He contemplates reaching for his phone on the bedside table for a moment but decides against it. Louis is a light sleeper, and he would definitely wake up if Harry moves much more, so Harry stays still.

He stays still for 20 minutes, drifting in and out of sleep before Louis finally stirs.

He stretches and yawns loudly, before curling further around Harry’s body arms snaking around his torso, and when he looks up, blue eyes hazy with sleep, but so, so soft, Harry feels it.

He’s not sure if he could explain the feeling. It’s just an urgent need to always protect Louis and make him laugh, and it’s not like he hasn’t felt like that before, of course he has, the feeling is just somehow so much more intense, and Harry thinks, “ _I want to be with him forever_.”

It’s not like they weren’t planning on not being together forever anyway, but Harry wants to make it official somehow, the together part.

It’s not like any of them is going to find other people as compatible as they are with each other. It’s not even about the sexuality prospect of their relationship.

Like yeah, Harry had never really understood when the boys at school had started making remarks about how big Louisa's breasts had gotten or how sexy Jade from upper sixth was. Sure, he could appreciate that they were both beautiful girls, but he didn't particularly have any desire to touch them inappropriately like all the other boys seemed to have.

For a while, he'd thought he was gay.

And he was fine with that, but it had never really sat well with him, calling himself gay. It hadn't felt right. But he obviously wasn’t either romantically or sexually attracted to any of the girls at school, so he _had_ to be gay. Right?

He realised that he probably wasn't gay though, when he figured out that, yes, Alex, who all the girls were giggling about, was handsome, but Harry had no desire to touch him inappropriately either.

Harry had been very confused and uncomfortable with himself. He had tried sex with both girls and boys, and he’d even tried dating, but it all felt wrong. So wrong, which had led to Harry feeling wrong for a little while. 

Because who doesn’t like sex?

Who has no interest in falling in love?

It wasn’t until he met Louis. Lovely, lovely Louis, who had been so confident in who he is, that Harry learned about asexuality and about being aromatic.

They had instantly fallen into each other.

Louis had made Harry understand so much he hadn’t before. He’d made Harry learn how to love and accept himself, and quite frankly, Harry feels like he owes him his life.

Louis always just waves him off though, telling him he’s being ridiculous. But Harry sees the way his eyes shine whenever he tells him.

Their personalities are so compatible and it had barely even been a week before they had called each other best friends, and as cliché, as it sounds, Harry believes they’re soulmates.

He can’t help the way he grins at the thought.

He wants Louis to be his platonic partner.

A small smile tugs at Louis’ lips. He reaches a finger up and pokes Harry's cheek, right where his dimple is showing.

“What's up with the face, weirdo?” He asks. There's laughter in his voice, his eyes all crinkles.

“Nothing.” Harry denies, batting Louis’ probing finger away. He needs come up with an idea.

-

Ice skating.

He decides to take Louis ice skating.

He’s not really sure how that’s gonna help him ask Louis the question, but it's been a bit of a tradition of theirs, to go ice skating the first week of January. They've been doing it ever since they first met, and Harry feels like it might be nice. A reason to keep doing it, if it reminds them of Harry asking Louis to be his platonic life partner.

If Louis says yes, that is.

He's gonna, Harry's sure. He couldn't imagine Louis would ever say no.

That doesn't explain why Harry's so bloody nervous from the moment they walk into the hall where the ice rink is, though.

He'd thought of himself as pretty confident, even when he asked Louis to go ice skating with him there had been no problems at all. But now, as he's lacing up his skates, he can't help how much his hands are sweating. It's ridiculous because it's literally just Louis, his best friend of four years, he shouldn't have to be this nervous.

That doesn't help how his hands are literally slipping on the laces of the skates, because of how sweaty they are.

Louis has been giving him odd looks the whole time they've been here and Harry’s not sure how long it's going to take before he breaks and just asks. 

The moment they step out onto the ice Harry realises that he should’ve probably made some kind of a plan, and when he immediately slips, gripping onto the plastic supplier to not go tumbling onto his arse, he realises that this was probably a really bad idea.

It’s not that Harry hasn’t skated before, of course he has, and it’s not that he _can’t_ either, he’s just terribly uncoordinated at times, and walking on a slippery surface never ends well for him.

Louis snorts from behind Harry, where he’s flawlessly rolling onto the ice and stopping in front of him.

“Are you okay, love?” he asks. He sounds like he's trying not to laugh, and the way his mouth twitches like he’s trying really hard to keep his face from breaking into a grin betrays him.

Harry glares at him.

“Fine,” he answers, but there’s absolutely no heat behind it no matter how much Harry wishes there was. He can’t be mad at Louis, even if his life depended on it.

Louis reaches out and pries his hands off the supplier, taking them in his smaller ones. He starts to slowly skate backwards. “Just move your feet like this.”

Harry looks down at Louis’ feet, watching how they move. They did this the last time they were here, the time before that, and the time before that too, but Harry’s somehow never gotten down the art of ice skating. No matter how much he tries, it’s like he gets worse every year.

He straightens up and slowly moves his feet out, watching them sync up with Louis’ slow movements. It doesn’t take long before Harry’s gotten the hang of it enough that he can look up at Louis’ face. There’s a teasing smirk playing on his lips and Harry immediately regrets the decision.

“Shut up,” he says.

Louis lets out a bark of laughter at that. “I didn’t even say anything.”

“You didn’t have to.”

Louis’ smile softens at that. “You’re doing great,” he says. “Honestly.” And Harry is immediately reminded why he’s about to ask what he is. Even though Louis knows Harry isn’t actually mad at him for taking the piss, he still felt the need to reassure him and Louis is honestly just the greatest person to ever exist. He might be a bit mischievous and a bit loud sometimes, but he’s always supportive when he needs to be and he would never ever do anything to hurt the ones he loves. 

That’s the reason Harry wants to spend the rest of his life with him.

Now, Harry thinks, would probably be a good time to ask him.

They’re just slowly drifting around the rink, feet moving slowly, off beat with the 00’s top 40 playing over the speakers. He has the words right at the tip of his tongue, but when he opens his mouth to speak he goes tumbling down, taking Louis with him and smashing his face right into the ice.

They land in a bit of a pile, Louis on top of Harry. Harry's cheeks heat up with embarrassment and when he feels his upper lip getting wet he’s not sure if it’s the ice or if it’s his nose bleeding. Judging by the throbbing of his nose and right cheek he'd definitely put his money on a nosebleed.

“Oh my God, H, are you alright?” Louis asks when he's off of Harry's back and down by his side.

Harry grunts. “Just-, leave me here to die.”

-

Turns out it was a nosebleed and a pretty bad one at that.

Louis had to go and get someone to help Harry up and off the ice, while someone went and got paper towels and an ice bag for his nose.

Harry was pretty humiliated, to say the least.

It doesn’t really discourage him from his “ _ask Louis to me my platonic life partner_ ” quest though. It’s only two nights later that he tries again.

Harry has decided for a bit more simple approach, one that’s a bit more ironic somehow.

He’s prepared a candlelit dinner, Louis' favourite spaghetti dish, by the time Louis comes home from his classes.

Louis raises his eyebrows as he drops his backpack in the hall.

“A candlelit dinner?” he asks. “Styles, if I didn’t know better I’d say that you were trying to woo me.”

Harry laughs. That’s where the irony is. Harry knows his sense of humour is a bit, well. dumb, sometimes, but this Louis will find funny too he knows. using a stereotypical romantic setting to ask Louis to be his platonic partner.

“You wish,” Harry answers, with a grin as he carries the pot with the noodles out. He places the pot on the table as he starts to put the food on their plates. “Take a seat.”

Louis’ got a bit of a confused smile on his face as he sits down, but he doesn’t say anything.

Harry goes to pick up the pot again, but accidentally presses the back of his hand against the pot, burning himself. He yelps and drops the pot on the floor, spilling all the remaining pasta onto the floor. Louis immediately gets up from the chair.

“Harry!” He exclaims as he rushes to Harry’s side, cradling his hand gently. “We need to get some cold water on that, come on.”

Louis leads them into the kitchen, turning on the tap, setting it on cold, before prompting Harry to stick his hand under the cooling water.

It doesn’t last long before the burning sensation stops, and Harry is able to help Louis clean up the pasta he spilt all over the floor. He’d luckily not burned himself a lot, just enough to make a little red mark appear, just below his knuckles.

Louis helps him plate the rest of the food, and it isn’t long before they’re sitting down. Harry had insisted on turning on the candles, even though Louis had protested, _a lot_ , claiming Harry had already hurt himself with hot things and that they didn’t need a repeat of that. It had gone well so far, all things considered.

Louis hums loudly, satisfied, as he takes the first bite of the food.

“This is so good,” he says with a smile and Harry returns it easily, knowing that this is Louis’ favourite pasta dish. “But I have to ask, is there a reason why you’re serving me dinner at 3 pm?”

Harry flushes a bit. It hadn’t originally been part of his plan to serve the dinner this early. He had honestly just been really excited about it all, and as soon as he came home he started on the food. He hadn’t even considered that it might have come off as a bit weird.

He feels a bit caught off guard, having almost forgotten about the whole reason he’s even doing this.

Harry clears his throat, before speaking. “Yeah, I actually wanted to- SHIT!” Harry shoots out of his chair the moment his eyes catch the flame licking at the tablecloth. Louis gets up too and throws his glass of red wine onto the fire, in an attempt to put it out. Most of it doesn’t even touch the fire and ends up just staining the tablecloth.

Harry runs to the kitchen to find something and fill it with water. His eyes immediately fall to the pot he had cooked the pasta in. He puts it under the faucet, as Louis yells at him to hurry up from the living room. He rushes out, pouring the water onto the flames, ruining the remaining food in the progress.

It does end up stopping the tiny fire that had started in the middle of their table, though.

Harry should've listened to Louis about the candles.

Afterwards, as they’re sitting on the sofa, hearts still rabbiting in their chests from adrenaline, Louis turns to Harry.

“What was it you wanted to say?” He asks.

Harry gulps, and it’s as if the moment is over. It would somehow feel wrong to ask now, so Harry just lightly shakes his head. “It doesn’t matter anymore.”

Louis squints at him for a moment.

“Alright, if you say so.” he shrugs. “How did that even _happen_?” He lets out a little laugh.

Harry leans his head back against the backrest and turns his face to Louis. “Bad luck I guess.” He smiles though, before laughing, overwhelmed by the event of the day. Louis joins him quickly, and they end up putting on a movie and ordering pizzas when it’s actually a more appropriate time for dinner.

-

It’s not until another week later that Harry gets the guts to ask again.

It’s a Friday, just past midnight and Louis is slowly drifting in and out of sleep on Harry’s shoulder while some movie is playing on the television. Louis had insisted that they should watch it, even though he’d been yawning all throughout the movie before that.

Harry clears his throat, and while he knows it might not be the best idea to ask Louis a question like he’s about to while Louis is very nearly passed out, he’s gonna attempt anyway.

Louis startles slightly and blinks up at Harry with bleary eyes.

“What’s going on?” He asks.

Harry smiles at him and gently strokes the arm Louis has tossed across his stomach. 

“Nothing,” he answers. “I actually wanted to talk to you about something.”

Louis blinks at him. “Yeah, sure. What’s up?”

Harry directs his eyes to the television again, watching as some car blows up. “It’s just that- I don’t really know how to formulate this.” He lets out a little laugh. “But we’ve been, like, the best of friends for years and years, by now right? And since we’re both ace and aro, I’m just thinking that there’s a very little chance we’re going to find anyone else we’ll have such a strong bond with that we have with each other, and you know I love you to the moon and back, you’re my best friend in the whole world and I literally owe you my life and yes, I know you hate when I say that but I do, I really do Lou. You’re so, so lovely and funny, the funniest person I know probably, and I just. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, okay? So I was just thinking if you’d be my platonic life partner?”

He lets out a relieved breath the moment the words are out. It feels like a weight has been lifted off his chest. When Louis doesn’t answer though, not even a noise of some kind, Harry looks down to see that he’s snoozing soundly on Harry’s shoulder, a little string of drool connecting his mouth to Harry’s t-shirt.

Harry sighs, because of course. He’ll ask Louis some other time.

-

Harry decides to try and ask one more time before giving up because if this last time doesn’t work out, it probably isn’t meant to be like how Harry had initially thought.

He stops by the flower shop on his way home from uni the next Monday and buys a bouquet of beautiful orange and white lilies to give to Louis. He is so sure that this can’t go wrong. Louis loves flowers a lot, always has. He always says they remind him of home, of his mum, because she always has the house filled with all kinds of plants and flowers. 

It occurs to Harry when he’s stood in the shop, that he has no idea what Louis’ favourite flower is, so he goes with the cheaper, pretty lilies. He’s not really big on flower meanings, but he knows Louis is, so he just hopes they don’t mean like, death or something.

Louis isn’t home when Harry unlocks their flat, so he puts the flowers in a vase filled with water before spending some time cleaning up and taking a shower. He’s for some reason less nervous today than he’s been the other times he’s planned to ask Louis the question. He’s not really sure why, but his guess would be that his plan is foolproof.

Louis comes home around an hour after Harry, sighing loudly as he gets into the flat, dropping his bag and yelling out, “you cannot guess what happened today in class.”

Harry quickly grabs the flowers from the vase and hides them behind his back, as Louis walks into the living space.

“Okay, so. You know Joshua from my social-.” Louis cuts himself off the moment he sees Harry.

Harry think it’s probably the way he can’t keep his smile off his face, and if not it’s the way he’s hiding his hands behind his body that gives away that he’s got something to say.

“What have you got there?” Louis asks with a barely concealed smile.

“Nothing,” Harry answers, biting down on his lip in a poor attempt to stop his smile. “You were in the middle of a story, go on.” He gestures at Louis with one hand.

“No,” Louis says, as he walks towards Harry. “What it is that you’re hiding?”

“Alright.” Harry grins as he removes his hands from his back and presents Louis the flowers. “Tada!”

Louis’ eyes light up the moment he sees them, and he grabs the quickly, sticking his whole face into them to smell them.

“They’re gorgeous,” he says as he lifts his face up again, eyes shining. “Any particular reason you’ve gotten me them?”

“Yeah, I- remember how I’ve been trying to talk to you about something a few times recently?” Harry has his eyes on the flowers, but he looks up when he hears Louis heave in a breath. He’s startled by the panicked look on Louis’ face. “Oh my, God, are you okay? Lou?”

Louis just shakes his head frantically as he drops the flowers. “Are these- lilies?” He asks in between frantic breaths of air.

Harry nods, panicked now too. He has no idea what is going on, but he’s sure it isn’t good judging by what’s happening with Louis.

“Call 911.” Louis gets out and Harry has never pulled his phone from his pocket this quickly before. When he gets through he tells them that he needs an ambulance, since neither of them can drive and his friend has had some kind of allergic reaction to lilies and that it’s urgent considering he can’t breathe.

The lady on the phone tells Harry what to do and what not to do, as she sends an ambulance their way.

-

It takes three whole hours before they get Louis to the hospital and has him stabilised enough for him to talk and breathe normally again. Harry has never been this scared in his life. He’s never experienced anything like this before, and he feels guilty as hell even though he knows he really can’t be blamed, considering he had no idea that Louis is, apparently, deadly allergic to lilies.

It doesn’t really change that fact that he very nearly killed Louis.

When the nurse finally tells him he can go in and talk to him, Harry shoots out of his seat. It doesn’t take him any time at all to get into the room, but he stops when he sees Louis lying in the hospital bed.

“God,” he breathes out, and then before he noticed he bursts into tears, as he gets over to Louis’ side. 

Louis is sitting up in the bed, sucking on the straw in a little juice box, and he looks nothing like Harry feared. He doesn’t look scared, and he isn’t pale or little in the hospital bed. He looks bright and happy like he normally does, and Harry doesn’t know if it that what makes him cry. If he’s relieved, if he’s just overwhelmed, or if it’s a whole other option. Either way, Harry is crying and Louis starts laughing as Harry gets to his side.

“What are you crying for, you doof?” He asks. He sounds like he normally would, if not a little hoarse, but it’s nothing you would notice if you didn't know what had happened. “I’m okay.”

“I know that.” Harry sniffs, wiping his nose on his sleeve. “I’m just, I don’t know. Overwhelmed?”

Louis reaches up and runs a hand through Harry’s short curls, scratching his scalp lightly. “It’s alright.”

Harry wipes away the tears from his cheeks and lets out an embarrassed laugh.

“I’m so sorry, so, so sorry," he says

Louis waves his hand dismissively. “It’s alright, I’m fine and you didn’t know.”

“Well, still.”

They talk for a few minutes before the nurse comes in to check on Louis again, just to make sure he’s 100 perfect stable. He is, of course, just as good as before any of all this happened.

When she leaves again, Louis looks at Harry. He squints his eyes a little, before he asks, “what was it that you wanted to talk about?”

Harry frowns, not really sure what Louis means. Louis just rolls his eyes, but smiles.

“The reason you brought me flowers,” he explains as he flicks Harry on the side of the head. Harry grabs his hands and intertwines their fingers

“Oh.” Harry had completely forgotten all about that, what with everything going on. “Oh, that. I really had this whole speech planned out, but I can’t for the life of me remember it right now, so I’m just gonna ask you directly, okay?”

It’s probably the best option for Harry right now because he’s still a bit overwhelmed by it all, and he thinks that he might as well just go for it and ask.

“Do you want to be my queerplatonic partner?”

He looks up at Louis expectantly, but what he doesn’t expect to see is Louis looking very, well, confused. He’s got a little crease between his eyebrows, and he isn’t smiling or crying or anything like Harry had expected.

“Lou?”

“I thought we already were?” Louis says and it’s a question but a remark as well, and Harry is honestly taken aback. They had never talked about it before, and he for some reason just assumed it was a big thing, like when couples ask each other to marry them. To Harry, this has the same kind of importance, but he might have been all wrong, what with Louis just assuming they already were.

“I- I assume that means yes?”

Louis snorts out a laugh, “of course it does. Have you really been going out of your way this way so much just to ask me this?”

“Yes? Should I not?” Harry asks, doubting himself.

“I don’t know? I just assumed that we already were defining our relationship as that, because, you know? Of course?”

Harry lets go of Louis’ hands to lean up and hug him, crushing him into his chest and kiss his forehead. “I love you, you know? You’re my best person.”

Louis smiles then, all fond and crinkly-eyed. “You’re my best person too.”

**Author's Note:**

> say [hi](http://grimouis.tumblr.com/)


End file.
